Canucks’ Manny Malhotra cleared to play in Stanley Cup finals

Canucks center Manny Malhotra, who has been out since March 16 with a serious eye injury, has been cleared to play, coach Alain Vigneault said Saturday. Vigneault said Malhotra is “basically on a day-to-day basis” and wouldn’t confirm his status for Game 1 Wednesday night.

Malhotra, who served as the Canucks’ third-line center and had 30 points in 72 games this season, has undergone several surgeries since being hit in the left eye with a deflected pass in a game against the Avalanche. There were concerns about his vision and on March 21, the Canucks announced that he was done for the season. His recovery has gone better than expected, though. He started skating with the team on May 12 and he was cleared for contact on Friday.

“It’s a very exciting prospect for me at this point,” Malhotra said Saturday. “Coming from where I was two months ago, making the statement the season was over, to potentially having a possibility to play in the NHLStanley Cup final is incredibility exciting for me.”

Beyond giving the Canucks some offensive depth, Malhotra’s return would also give them their best faceoff man. He ranked second in the NHL this season with a 61.7-percent success rate on draws.